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Tried to pull off a quick one (sorry no pictures)

Hello everyone,

I work with an HVAC extended service warranty company. Recently we had a contractor who was servicing one HO's barely 5 year old Lennox XP13 heat pump, up in Quebec Canada. I spoke with the tech who said there was an "obstruction" in the condenser coil that "could not be found or repaired," and he sent us an estimate for a completely new outside unit. When we asked for a detailed service ticket, he dismissed us saying "we don't use those for residential jobs, we only issue invoices."

So, another local contractor was called to get a 2nd opinion. When he got there, he told us that the 1st guy had ran off with a dual capacitor, and found the system overcharged by 5 lbs. R410A. He said he can put in a new capacitor and TXV and adjust the charge, and sure enough that did it and left the HO with a working AC for less than a quarter of the cost of the 1st guy!

Needless to say that 1st guy is not gonna get a call from us again. Guess he was looking to get a sale rather than fix the problem!!

I geuss he was trying to remove that obstruction with that 5Lbs of Refer didn't work. Just be happy that he didnt damage the unit so badly that the second guy had no choice but to sell a new outside unit. You get what you pay for.

Actually the HO hired that company instead of those we suggested. They have been having (relatively) crazy heat up there (mid 90's, imagine that) and everyone we suggested was booked for over a week so they called a random company out of the phone book.

I hope in Quebec the home warranty companies are a lot better than they are in the midwest. After spending 45 minutes on the phone they will tell you they'll pay for 1/2 of what it actually should be. Then you have to stand there and try to justify your price to another company and the homeowner who is mad at both you and the warranty company. The whole time the clock is ticking and the home warranty company is saying "we can't authorize that..".

I'm tired of homeowners screaming at home warranty companies that don't pay jack. It's a joke! And who knows, there could have been an obstruction in the TXV in the outside condenser (coil). I don't know the exact situation, but I do know that I am sick of home warranty companies spending everybody's time and money.

I have heard this a lot as well about home warranty. It's not the type of products we offer and we give contractors a choice to select pre-determined flat rates for each type of repair (buy cheaper ESA, get lower rates, buy higher premium get higher rates) so they know up front how much they get paid when they send a tech out for a service call.